Trading Places
by The Dark Waltz
Summary: RE-WRITTEN Two girls switch places with two others in the tale old story of Leroux's Phantom of the Opera.
1. Sisters of the Heart

The two girls could have been mistaken as sisters at first glance, but upon closer inspection one could notice the drastic differences. One bright, the other dark. One bold, the other introspective. Sisters of the heart not in the blood.

"Kitty, read to me." Dark asked light.

"'The opera ghost existed, he was not the creation of..." 'Kitty's' voice wove a tale of darkness, love and betrayal. A story that she knew by heart.

Two eyes closed, Jlee was not one for the story that was to be told but she loved the sound of her friend's voice. As they rested for dinner, she smiled, "You are obsessed. How many times have you read that story?"

"It's not just a story."

"Right...it really happened."

"I believe it did."

The dinner was long because 'Kitty's' little brother had to tell all his jokes to the new guest at the family's table. Finally they escaped outside where the two of them admired the stars that shined above them.

"Life seems to have sped up ever since we graduated three years ago."

"I know what you mean..."

The skies suddenly burst as millions of crystal raindrops fell upon their upturned faces.

"Alyssa!"

"Jlee! It's raining!" Her voice rang out into the night in utter joy. Thunder rolled nearby and her smile widened, "Let the rain take away everyone's tears and allow for new beginnings and second chances." Only thunder responded to her statement.

"It's coming closer, maybe we should go inside."

"Just a little bit longer." Alyssa raised her arms to the skies and twirled around laughing gaily. "Come friend, sing in the rain with me." Her sister looked at her for awhile shaking her head before joining her and danced like no one was watching.

The two young woman danced and sang, their voices and joy ringing out through the night; a crash was heard as sudden strike of lightening hit them. Before either could scream they were enveloped in a bright light and vanished, and in their places stood two nearly identical woman and a song that echoed through the night, "_Where have all the young girls gone, long time ago..."_

**A/N: This is a re-write of the story with a change of character names. Basically the original was based of me and a friend of long ago, but she ended up betraying me and although I loved this story, it would hurt everytime I read it. So for awhile I've been wanting to re-write it, except this time with my frister for about 3 years now. So yep, hope you all will forgive me and still love the story that will unfold.**


	2. Who? When? Where? What!

Alyssa felt as if she was in an endless merry-go-around, everything around her was spinning. Suddenly she stopped, but she was dazed and off balance.

"Christine, Christine pay attention."

She slowly opened her eyes.

"Oh shittake mushrooms!" In front of her was a large theater, almost brand new by the look of it. Bright red velvet seats and gold molding, it was stunningly beautiful; and despite the confusing situation she found herself in she found herself speechless in the beauty of the building surrounding her. Even the stage that she slowly found out she stood upon showed amazing craftsmanship, and flies high above her were all orderly and pristine. Her hands tightened, her grip crinkling the fabric of the dress she was wearing. Surprised she looked down upon herself finding herself in a ballet/chorus members costume, some sort of faery she assumed by the glitter and the small pair of wings that were applied to the back of her costume. How was this possible!

"This is weird."

"Christine are you listening to me!" A strict looking women walked forward. She was wearing what a ballet mistress would. A black skirt and white blouse with a ruffled collar. A long black braid was over her right shoulder. She stopped in front of Alyssa, while she stood gaping at everything around her.

"Christine you haven't been yourself today. Why don't you take a break. Now understand you won't get a break like this again. Am I understood?"

Alyssa just decided to nod as if she knew what the other woman was talking about, while all the time telling herself that she had finally completely lost it.

"Good, now go get some rest."

She nodded again and then moved offstage but not before one of the ballet rats laughed shrilly.

"Christine Daae, the poor girl, she doesn't have anything within her head but clouds."

The others laughed along with her until the ballet mistress clapped her hands together.

"That's enough."

"Of course, Madame Renard; Whatever you say Madame Renard." The girls chimed.

Alyssa drifted away. She didn't even know where she was going.

She went through hallways, past seamstresses and sculptures, she was full of wonderment and confusion. Where was she? She should have known (after all, her obsession) but she was still in shock, everything around her seemed to be far too impossible and yet everything around her was tangible far more so than most of her even most realistic dreams. She continued on, looking up at the rafters above her and then she had an increasing desire to find out exactly where she was. She knew she couldn't go outside using the front door considering what she wore. It took her two hours to find the stairs leading her up to the upper levels of the building. The stairs wound up through several layers of the theater, past sculptures and seamstresses; stagehands and cast members. Everything past by her in a blur.

Finally she found her way to the door that said, "Roof Access" in French, but for some odd reason she understand it. She hurried through it and gasped at the view in front of her.

"Paris." She let out a sigh of wonderment and confusion. She ran to the edge and looked out at the cityscape. "Oh, my." She saw down far below horse drawn carriages going through the streets at their own pace. She recognized the plaza down below her, and as soon as she did she looked the far right but she could not find it; the Eiffel Tower was not there. "It hasn't been built yet..."

She looked down at herself again and saw something she didn't see before. Her gold hair was curled perfectly, naturally not stiff or limp; little whisps fell to her shoulders in gentle waves as the rest was in a beautiful hair style upon her head.. She started to back up as the realization of what was happening came upon her.

Another person, in a maids outfit, was doing the same and as they hit each other both jumped up and screamed and then spun around to face their opponent.

"Jlee!" "Alyssa!" They hugged each other, an unspoken emotion between the two of them. Both were tremendously glad they would not be left alone to the new world they found themselves in.

"Where are we, Kitty? And who are we?" Jlee looked bewildered around her and then down at her clothes.

"I know we are Paris, France. But the real question you should be asking is, when are we. I really don't think we're in the same century that we were in before…." The last part Alyssa Kae whispered, as the reality of her words finally reached her own senses completely.

"This is impossible."

"That's what I've been trying to tell myself, but I would have imagined the Eiffel Tower but look its not there." Kitty pointed out at the view, where the Eiffel Tower would have stood. "This is the Paris Opera House and..." She trailed off as a look of confusion and almost horror flickered through her features. She snapped out of it and hurriedly asked her friend, "What did they call you when you got here?" Jlee's carmel eyebrows furrowed.

"Reya."

"And they called me Christine….Jlee….Christine Daae."

"You are kidding me!"

Alyssa shook her head, and continued on with her thoughts of the situation they found themselves in, "I must look exactly like her and you with this Reya person…but we don't have their memories unless you do…"

"No I don't."

"Do you realize what this means I've traded places through pure chance with Christine Daae, quite possibly the Christine Daae! I could change His future!" Her eyes became bright with her prospect ahead of her. "Wait, but who are you then?"

"A cleaning lady."

"Oh, I thought you'd get to be dancer, but I suppose not everything works out the way we would want it...But think! Since Christine Daae exists, then guess who else is real?"

"Oh, no...Kitty."

"Don't you see this could change everything, for good." Alyssa's or rather **Christine's **wide grin said it all.


	3. New Roles & Rules

The days that followed their "transfer" the young women tried their best to slip into the new roles they were given. But despite their efforts, the changes were noticeable to all those around them. They held none of the memories of their priors, and yet they held striking resemblances. But as they soon found out there was some drastic differences.

"Christine!"

Madame Renard regarded the young woman before her, long gone was the child with the sad disposition and instead she saw a young woman who was radically different; if the Madame was more open-minded she might have believed they were two complete different individuals. The young woman before her stood up tall over her contemporaries with an inner pride that the former had not possessed; and although her dancing had gotten worse her voice in the chorus had grown. No longer was there a soulless tone to it, instead there was a full quality that if coaxed one could see the great potential. Isabelle Renard shook her head from her thoughts as she continued with her instruction.

"Christine, raise your arms higher. You are a creature of myth not a young duckling about to take flight." Christine took her instruction with the nod of her head, correcting her posture once again. Despite her skill in dance decreasing, her reaction to criticism was much better, in the past the dancer's eyes would have misted over. "Now girls opening night is fast approaching we cannot fall back to our bad habits..."

The trouble with Jlee's new position was not the work, for all her life she had worked hard striving to make a living to support herself and the family that wouldn't take care of themselves. Where the back-breaking work of a cleaning lady would have been a hard adjustment she fell into the work automatically, showing a diligence that her prior had not shown. Her employers were surprised at her sudden work ethic, and her "friends" spoke behind her back.

"Raya, why don't we slip to the shops for a little bit."

Jlee rolled her eyes, unseen by the woman who would not stop bugging her. She worked hard polishing the grand foyers marble floors, smiling at the wonderful shine she could coax out of the stone below her.

"I've yet to finish my work."

"What's happened to you? You are no fun anymore." Finally the lady left, muttering some more exclamations before leaving with some other workers who were ditching. Jlee let out a sigh, knowing that many of the other workers already resented her, because their bosses appreciated her working throughout the day.

Suddenly Jlee could not wait for the evening to come when she'd see her sister once more. Her golden eyebrows furrowed as she scrubbed a certain spot on the floor harder, she was worried for Alyssa. This place was far too dangerous for a girl like her.

The night wind swirled around the girls welcoming them like an old friend as both got through the roof's trap door and lifted themselves onto the private rooftop.

"I stick out like a sore thumb, Jlee. Everyone can tell I have no idea what I'm doing on the dance floor. I don't know why they put up with me."

"It will get better." Jlee smiled brightly at her friend, and then suddenly an idea came to her. She got up from where she was sitting on the ice cold floor of the roof and held a hand out to her friend. "Come, I'll teach you the basics."

"Thank you, I really mean it. But I think its useless."

"Come, let's at least try."

"Ok..."

Alyssa grabbed her friend's hand and as she was lifted up she tripped over her feet and almost did a face plant but Jlee caught her just in time.

A burst of high pitch laughter came from Jlee before she could stop it and Alyssa glared at her before smirking herself before staring off into the distance for a little bit.

"What's on your mind?"

"Hmmm…"

"Don't do that again Kitty, you were going all Twilight Zone on me."

'Kitty' shook her head to clear it and then turned to gaze at her friend with an apologetic gaze.

"Oh, sorry."

"Well?"

"Hmm…I was just thinking that at this rate I'll probably never get a visit from my Angel of Music."

"**Your**Angel of Music?"

"Technically speaking 'my' father promised that he'd send the Angel of Music to me once in heaven."

"If you wish for him, you can't take it back."

"I know." A sigh escaped her. "Ok, shouldn't we get this practice session done before I chicken out."

The next ten minutes were spent with brief stretches and then Jlee relaying to her friend the basics of ballet and she should know and what she had to make sure she absolutely shouldn't do.

A shiver went down her spine, 'Kitty' looked both to her right then her left, knowing she wouldn't see anybody. "Maybe we should leave now." Night had fallen and the wind blew the slightest sound of cloth brushing against stone to here ears.

"What is it, Kitty?"

"It's Christine." She whispered more to herself than her friend. For a brief moment she thought of showing off to the other person on the roof, but despite it being a great chance she dismissed it. She would not lower herself into fishing for the ghost. At that moment she made a decision and she voiced it aloud, "Let's just do our best in the lives we find ourselves in Raya; while still never allowing ourselves to fade away. Okay, Jlee?" Her glazed look went away as viewed her friend who was looking curiously at her.

The thought that perhaps their coming messed up the story's scales and maybe the Phantom wouldn't even appear in Christine's life now came to her. And despite the chance of creating a paradox, Alyssa couldn't bare creating a situation that would only bring pain to another being. A being who most likely was one of the most genius men who ever lived on the earth; and although deep in her gut she wanted to meet him, she knew perhaps it would be better that they didn't.

"What brought about that?"

"I was just thinking of a story of the future. And I thought I couldn't allow the outcome to be the same, so I'll make a sacrifice...if it means saving a life. Well, actually several." Another sigh escaped her, as she strained her ears to try to pick up another sound to hint that there was another person on the roof hidden from their sight. But not one sound could be heard, as she expected.

"Come, let's get to bed. We both have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

Despite her friend's odd behavior, she followed her off the roof but not before on instinct looking behind her at the roof and for a moment she could have sworn she had seen a figure on top of Apollo's Lyre before she blinked and nothing was there.

**A/N: I know I took out the song part, and I hope that doesn't anger too many people. It's just re-reading my old version, I realize how selfish I'd made Penelope.**


	4. Compositions & A Decision Made

_The moment he laid his eyes upon her lithe little form he was doomed. They were complete opposites, in all things. Heart, body, mind and soul. She was the light, shining bright whereas he was the night with shadows within his soul. It was an impossible love. How that dark shadow fell in love with the timid rose no one could conceive._

Alyssa paused from writing for a moment and then leaned up against the cool statue behind her. A sigh escaped her lips as she peered above her at the blue sky that was slightly interrupted by the giant gray stone statue to the side. She closed her eyes enjoying the warm glow of sunshine on her form.

The roof had become her favorite place to go to after practice, and just lately she had taken to writing, drawing or reading underneath the shade of Apollo's Lire. It was a quiet place where she could let her mind wander after a hard day's work. Jlee would sometimes come to join her, when her duties were finished early. Sh even would sing softly to herself, not wishing to draw attention herself; but allowing her music to come from her throat, relaxing her mind after a stressful day. The songs would sometimes be her favorites from her old world or just some that she came up with on the spot.

Despite her previous silent commitment to herself, not to become The Christine Daae, she couldn't help thinking about the story she had memorized since the first time she read the book. How could He have fallen for Christine? What was it about her that made him love her so intensely? Or was it just a dark obsession as many had thought?

That day had been a day of rest before the night's performance. And so she wrote in order to disguise her nervousness and partial loneliness (Jlee had been super busy because of the upcoming performance). So she resigned herself to writing stories about the one person that no matter how she tried would not leave her mind. She was so lost in her thoughts at that moment that she didn't become aware of her friends presence until her writing was taken or rather snatched, quickly from her lap.

"Jlee! Ray...oh…whatever your name is please give me back that."

"This?" The paper was held playfully into the air and then after carefully dodging 'Kitty', Jlee began to recite it out loud. "The moment he laid his eyes upon her lithe," pause, "little," another dramatic pause, "form he was doomed." 'Doomed' was recited with much exaggeration. By the time she finished the whole little quote Jlee stood on the most top stair by the door of the rooftop, with a dramatic stance and with lowered voice she turned to look down at 'Kitty' from over the top of her nose, "Now whose eyes are doing the looking? And who may I ask do those staring eyes stare at?"

Alyssa remained silent throughout the whole fake mockery, as her friend dissected ever word she had put on the paper. After the tirade though she daintily took back what was hers only to fall flat on her face. Her friend then hopped from her perch and while stifling her laughter she helped her friend off the ground.

The fallen friend tried her best to dust herself off, but in the end it was useless.

"Real smooth, Christine." Jlee smiled with a wider grin with using her friend's new name, thinking of the irony of it all.

"Oh, shut up."

Alyssa then looked at her friend's eyes and couldn't help but to start laughing as well. And as 'Raya' dropped her facade both fell to the ground in a fit of giggles.

Two glowing cinnamon, golden eyes watched curiously as the two girls became red faced and breathy after laughing so long.

Days passed and Alyssa's first real performance went by without a hitch, most likely because she was given more parts in the chorus than the ballet. And still nothing of real importance for Alyssa came up, and so she continued her writing.

She hadn't written about Christine or the Phantom since that time on the roof when the two girls had had their moment of hilarious laughter. It wasn't until two months had passed that something inspired her to write once again about the Phantom. There had been a sighting of him, which had brought on an onslaught of gossip. Joseph Bouquet had been drunk, which is the part of the story where 'Kitty' laughed at for how they could be sure that what he saw wasn't just an illusion induced by the drink he had overindulged in. Two glowing eyes fiery red and a skull-like head, such tales put the ballet rats into shudders, high squeaks and hurried whispering.

So once again Alyssa found herself writing furiously as inspiration hit.

_"Little Lotte thought am I fonder of dolls or shoes or picnics in the attic…no Little Lotte said what I like best was when the Angel of Music sang songs in my head."_

_Little Lotte walked about with a doll under one arm, wandering aimlessly through the halls. Suddenly she encountered "The Rats," their coats were clean, shiny and white; small beady eyes and sharp teeth grinning ominously._

_"Hello, Little Lotte," they sneered, their sharp teeth glinting in the candlelight, "have you heard?"_

_"Heard of what?" Little Lotte raises her head, innocent blue eyes questioning._

_"There is a ghost within our midst." They started to circle around her like spiders weaving a web. "He haunts every corner, ready to strike!" One of them jumped in front of her suddenly trying to frighten her. But they didn't she simply made a single step back not emitting a sound, eyes darting to each of the Rat's faces; catching sight of occasionally a pink nose, whisker, or sneaky black eye. "It's said his eyes glow like two bright coals burning bright, and that he is a walking skeleton with no heart."_

_"How can you say such cruel things," she replied, "How do you know, he might have feelings."_

_"Ghosts don't have feelings." One rat quipped, while another spun Little Lotte around and looked at her, "but they do have instincts, like an animal," the other then finished, "Yes, the instinct to kill!"_

_But Little Lotte turned away for she knew that not everything was as it seems._

_"I do not believe what you say, for everything living with a mind or even instinct has a heart, even if it's stone hard." She turned back to them her small dainty nose tilting upward, "And I do not believe in ghosts, those are just stories, I may believe in Angels of Music but not ghosts out to kill. I believe this creature you've conjured is nothing but a man."_

_"A man!" They all squawked, quickly turning into chickens._

_"Yes a man! A man who just needs love like anyone and maybe a little music too." With this Little Lotte smiled, "Who knows this ghost you say exists just might be my Angel of Music." And with that she left the gaping chickens behind who knew they had been out-talked and soon gave up and went to their nests._

_Little Lotte then skipped down the halls with a smile on her face and a hope in her heart._

It wasn't until she finished that Alyssa realized what a dangerous piece of work she had just written. Little Lotte at first had been Christine but quickly she had turned into Alyssa herself, with her knowledge and care for the man behind the Phantom (a man she had yet to meet). She sighed dejectedly as she realized she would most likely have to burn the page within her hands and she had so liked it too.

She looked off into the sunset and couldn't help sighing once again. All of the sudden an unexpected strong wind came whisking away the paper in her hands. Penelope watched as it disappeared over the edge and out of sight.

She looked up shocked for a moment, before running to edge hoping to see it landed somewhere in sight but it was nowhere in sight. After a few minutes of searching the rooftop, she left dejected and hoping no one else would find the piece of paper. But her wishes were not granted.

A shadow had caught the page before it completely blew away. The shadow curious at a parchment that the young woman would search for with worry upon her features began to read the parchment. As the patch of darkness on the roof finished, his grip upon the paper crinkled the paper nearly ripping it. Over and over he read the sentence towards the end, his voice escaping him like the sudden wind that delivered the page to him. "A man."

A man he became as he slumped against the statue. His mind racing at the possibilities that threatened to overwhelm him. How did she know? He had seen the young woman before, and as his mind remembered all the times he saw her, he knew something was not right. He remembered the Christine of the past and she was not the same woman that was before him. For once he began to think what he was going to do with the brilliant mind he'd accidentally uncovered; a mind that knew more than the whole opera house knew.

He stood up abruptly. He would have to keep a close watch on the maiden who had taken little Christine Daae's name. So with a sweep of a cloak upon stone, the whisper in the wind and the clicking close of a trap door the decision was made.


End file.
